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Former Argentina and Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta has hit back at Kevin De Bruyne following his claims about Belgium's chances in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Zabaleta, who was a key part of the Argentina side that went to the 2014 FIFA World Cup final, has slammed his former teammate Kevin De Bruyne.
Ahead of Belgium's second group stage game against Morocco, De Bruyne played down suggestions that Belgium are serious challengers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Manchester City talisman said:
"No chance, we’re too old. I think our chance was 2018. We have a good team, but it is ageing. We lost some key players. We have some good new players coming, but they are not at the level other players were in 2018. I see us more as outsiders.”
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Pablo Zabaleta has fumed at De Bruyne following his comments and believes that Belgium do not possess the mentality to go all the way in Qatar. He told BBC, as quoted by The Daily Mail:
"My big concern about Belgium is the things players saying we’re not the team we used to be.That’s not the mentality you bring into the World Cup."
He added:
"They still have enough good players to win and beat anybody. If I’m one of the senior players here I’m fuming."
Zabaleta has claimed that teams like Uruguay and Croatia also have an aging set of key players but are not complaining like Belgium. He said:
"Maybe they’re playing some mind games. They have two or three players who aren’t young but some of the rest of the team."
He continued:
"Compared to Croatia/Uruguay I don’t hear them complaining about the ageing squad. It’s not the quality. They still have good enough players but if you complain about all those things it’s going to be very difficult. It’s not the right mentality."
Belgium have been rocked by Morocco in the 2022 FIFA World Cup
African giants Morocco have beaten Belgium 2-0 to come up with one of the biggest upsets in the 2022 FIFA World cup.
Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal have scored for the Atlas Lions as they defeated the semifinalists from the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Belgium started their 2022 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win against Canada but were not at their absolute best.
The Red Devils will now take on Croatia in the final group-stage game which will decide their future in the competition.
